Head of Immigration & International Student Compliance

Head of Immigration & International Student Compliance
Location: Ponsonby, Auckland 
Full-time | Permanent | On-site

About the role:

The Head of Immigration & International Student Compliance provides independent oversight and assurance across international enrolment compliance for UP Education New Zealand providers. This role is responsible for safeguarding regulatory standing, commercial integrity, and institutional reputation by strengthening internal control frameworks, risk management practices, and compliance programmes. Operating with functional independence, you will work closely with provider leadership, university partners, and regulators to ensure a safe, inclusive, and fully compliant environment for international students, while fostering a culture of continuous improvement and student-centred practice.

Key responsibilities include but not limited to:

• Providing independent assurance to executive leadership on the effectiveness of internal controls across international enrolments

• Leading governance, risk, and assurance activities, including maintaining risk registers and presenting risk insights to senior leadership and governance bodies

• Identifying, escalating, and overseeing remediation of compliance risks, control weaknesses, and audit findings

• Acting as key liaison with regulators and leading preparation for external audits and regulatory reviews

• Ensuring organisational compliance with NZQA, TEC, Immigration New Zealand, Ministry of Education, and Education Code obligations

• Leading annual Code of Practice self-reviews and structured internal self-assessment programmes

• Serving as the primary internal control and compliance advisor to New Zealand providers and their leadership teams

• Translating regulatory requirements into practical, scalable operational processes and group-wide policies

• Overseeing enrolment documentation reviews, visa compliance processes, and data integrity within student management systems

• Establishing structured audit schedules and tracking corrective action plans within defined timeframes

• Leading and developing the Internal Control function, fostering a high-performing and accountable team culture

• Delivering regulatory training and capability development initiatives across the organisation

• Driving the use of technology and AI-enabled tools to enhance compliance monitoring, reporting accuracy, and operational efficiency

• Monitoring key risk indicators and compliance performance metrics across international enrolments

• Promoting strong, collaborative engagement with university partners while maintaining governance independence